Unhealthy
by alch
Summary: Food has this uncanny knack for bringing people together, and in that case, it's a good thing both Charles and Erik are quite uncanny.
1. Leftover Chinese

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men, although I must admit I've been a huge fan since I was 5!

Summary: Food has this knack for bringing uncanny people together, and in that case, it's a good thing both Charles and Erik are quite uncanny.

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><p>Perhaps that last pint had been a bad idea. No. It had definitely been a bad idea. Why on <em>earth<em> did Charles go to the bar last night? Especially when he knew he had a class to teach this morning...Wait.  
><em>How exactly was he going to teach with a hangover?<em>

Carefully opening his eyes, Charles decided _waking up_ had been a bad idea.  
>The sunlight hurt his eyes, his head felt groggy, and the summer heat had him sweltering.<br>Unfortunately, daylight was wasting and Charles had things to do. Slightly adjusting the blanket, Charles sat up on his bed, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed, rubbing his temples as books clattered to the floor.

"Food. That's what I really need right now. Food," muttered Charles to himself whilst pulling the sheets to his body and drawing himself out of his _very warm, very comfortable_ bed.

Charles slipped down the seemingly endless stream of stairs and grew frustrated as the sheet he had been using to cover himself slid to the floor. However, Charles was hungry, and when Charles is hungry, **Charles cannot think, **so Charles did the most rational thing he could think of and continued on towards the kitchen where food awaited him. His sheet sat waiting for his return on the stairs.

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><p>Morning. A time of peace.<br>_This_ was Erik's favorite time of the day.

He sat at his kitchen table listening to the clock's ticking while watching people climb into their cars and drive past his home towards their day's work. With the warm scent of coffee tickling his nose, Erik allowed himself a moment to relax, and with a little sigh, Erik closed his eyes.

As he slowly opened his eyes, Erik glanced out his window to see a little blue bird perched on the bushes under the window of his neighbor's home. It tweeted and chirped, flying off leaving Erik to stare into the window.

At first the sight beyond it didn't register. _Something_ must have slipped into his coffee this morning. Erik shut his eyes and opened them again, but the sight persisted.

His neighbor, the _cardigan wearing-professor-of-a-neighbor_ was _not_ wearing his cardigan. In fact, he wasn't wearing anything at all and all Erik could do was stare at Charles as he ate something that looked suspiciously like leftover Chinese food.

Erik's eyes narrowed as he thought, '_Professors _should not_ be eating leftovers like some mongrel__'__._ He could barely contain his anger at the idea of unhealthy food entering _anybody's _body, nonetheless a professor who was influencing the impressionable minds of the next generation! Alas, before Erik could storm over towards his neighbor's home, a redhead entered his neighbor's kitchen in an _extremely_ blue tracksuit. With a twitch, Erik settled back into his seat, disgusted at his now cold cup of coffee.


	2. Matzah and Biscuits

Disclaimer: Some quotes, which are marked my asterix, are direct quotes from the Marvel Entertainment film or cartoon versions of the X-Men universe and have been added to allow fans to connect and feel familiarity in this unfamiliar environment. I take no credit for those quotes or the character names, etc.

Notes: Firstly, I'm not of Jewish descent, so I'm not familiar with non holiday foods of the Jewish kind. I will definitely do some research for the next time such things might come up, but I do love latkas and Matza balls so I thought it would be perfect for today.

Secondly, according to the movie First Class, Magneto's mother's name is Edie, so that's the name I used for her here. I originally had planned to name her after Erik's first daughter (or Magnus as he was called then), but I thought Edie might be more appropriate.

I think that it's a bit obvious that Erik is not only gay, but also into the arts. I mean, those turtlenecks, _come on._ I went to a contemporary art museum once, and I came across the metal statues made out of shapes of all sorts, and I really thought that Magneto would be able to make something like that.

Everyone's slightly out of character, I know, I'm trying to figure out how they're going to act too. Bare with me. There are just so many story arcs, movies, cartoons, etc. to choose from that I'm trying to mix and match till I find the right one. I'm also aware that I switch POV's quite often, but the story moves much too quickly for me to do much, I'll work on creating more flowy scenes that require less.

Without further ado, Have fun with this.

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><p>Feeling slightly less inebriated, Charles was ready to begin his day when any notions he had had of a nice, quiet, <em>peaceful<em> day flew out the window as his thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a half-shriek-half-giggle, "Oh my god! Charles! Put some clothes on! _This is a kitchen!*_"

Charles hadn't heard Raven come in, but if he didn't know she was here then, he knew now. Raven unceremoniously plopped onto a chair, cocked her eyebrows at Charles and stated, "Charles. Clothing. Now?"

Charles was now sober enough to have the decency to blush as he excused himself and rushed towards his room. As though the fates had intervened, Charles found himself unable to help but trip over the blanket that had been previously _innocently_ draping the stairs. Tangled amongst the sheets, Charles struggled to get up but found he was unable to lift himself. His limbs just refused to listen. In a calm, practiced voice, he asked, "Raven, please call Hank, I can't feel my legs...*"

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><p>Seeing his neighbor disappear into the inner portions of his home, Erik decided to begin his day. Rising from his seat at the kitchen table, Erik went to his art room to gather supplies for his latest dabble.<p>

Although a master engineer by trade, Erik had a deep fascination with the Arts. He infused these two passions into his own personal masterpieces. Sculptures of metal. Erik gathered his pieces and moved to his yard to begin assembling the pieces.

Each part was a piece of a puzzle, and Erik was in his own world. Erik stayed there until he heard a door open and voices stream into his thoughts. Erik noticed a man- tall, gangly, nerdy looking, exiting Charles' home, presumably his _partner._

Erik composed himself and eradicated his mind of such biter thoughts as he heard a car door slam shut behind him.

"You're making those _things_ again? Erik. You'll never find a nice boy to settle down with if you keep working on those hideous… things. They really do clutter your garden." Erik's mother had come to visit and she had begun the visit with her monthly scolding. Erik braced himself for the long lecture and began to drown out her voice.

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><p>Charles walked Hank to the door, well more like <em>limped<em>.  
>"Charles, be more careful! One day it won't be a fluke, you'll have actually broken something." Hank scolded Charles, who quite suddenly felt like a child. This was becoming a common occurrence. He got hurt, he called Hank, a doctor and also the boyfriend of his lovely sister Raven, got a checkup, and then got scolded. Before he could look abashed, Raven stepped into the door frame and brazenly stated, "Hank, I'll see you for dinner." Charles had always admired how bold Raven was. She never feared asking someone out, not that anyone could say no to her. Charles noticed the way Hank could only nod and blush as his girlfriend initiated yet another date.<p>

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><p>Erik was taking his mother inside now that her tirade was over, but noticed Charles walking with a slight limp down the driveway towards his partner's car. Apparently his mother noticed to and her "mother hen" nature made her march on over to him. Erik could hear her croon, "You poor dear! What happened?"<p>

Charles _was_ abashed by the attention coming from the elderly woman and could only mutter, "Oh, nothing ma'am."  
>"Must hurt! Hurt boys need good food. You ate right? Got enough rest? Propping it up on cushions?"<p>

Erik noticed Charles tense up at the mention of food and heard Charles' hesitant answer of "yes".

"UNACCEPTABLE!" Erik's mother always knew when Erik hadn't eaten _all _his vegetables, and apparently she could tell with Charles as well, she wouldn't let this go. "You will come for dinner at my son's place. He'll make you something good! You need your energy to heal that poor leg! Erik. Go to the grocery store right now." Erik resigned himself with a sigh as Charles nodded, understanding that _there was no way out of this_. "Good boy, see you at six, don't be late!"

He heard Charles mutter a, "Yes ma'am" as he looked towards the floor.

"Call me Edie dear," and with a suspicious gleam in her eye, Erik's mother herded him into a car and towards the grocery store.

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><p>"Charles this will be good for you! You spend too much time with your books anyways. Get out there! Meet new people!" Raven lightly scolded Charles for his reluctance.<p>

Charles knew he was being silly, he'd never had trouble socializing before, but things were different now. He was out of the closet, He was a professor, He had **responsibilities**; he couldn't just go out and get drunk to meet girls. Not that he wanted to…

Charles took his steps one at a time. Out the door, down the driveway, up his driveway, up to the doorway. Even before Charles could ring the bell, he was smothered by a hug from Erik's mother.

"Oh, right on time! Come in, come in! Erik's almost done cooking. How's your leg?"

"-_Mother_. Charles, hello. The food is ready. Come eat before you scare him away." Erik's voice interrupted their conversation and Charles was able to take in a deep whiff of a wonderful smelling meal.

With the first bite, Charles was able to decide, this wasn't just wonderful smelling, _it was wonderful tasting too_. The matzo soup was savory, the biscuits fluffy, everything was just perfect. It was even better because all he had eaten all day were leftovers. Charles faced Erik and stated, "This is absolutely brilliant cooking Erik. Thank you for having me over," and to Erik's mother he said, "If I had someone who cooked like this in my home, why Edie, _I'd never leave_!" To which Erik's mother quickly chirped, "Stay here! Erik never leaves either," and with a wink she added, "he can cook for you if you'd like and you can read to him. He needs some _culture_ that boy; He makes those silly statues and stays home alone."

"Why Edie, I quite like them." Charles said gently, he faced Erik and gave him a small smile.


	3. Ice Cream

Standard Disclaimer Here

Notes: I feel that my chapters are too short. Would people prefer a longer chapter, or a shorter chapter? I feel like longer chapters, with my writing style, might make the story drag too much, but a shorter style makes it feel like a series of one-shots, which they're not. Conflicted, conflicted, conflicted~.

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><p>Erik glided through the aisles, searching for the right books. Summer had just begun and it was important that he have a strong set of books to keep him company through the long days ahead. He leafed through random books in random aisles, every-so-often placing one in the basket by his feet. Finally when Erik felt he had a large enough collection for the day, he picked up the basket and went towards the cash register stopping just as he was about to pay when a book on sharks caught his attention. The front cover featured a sprawling picture of a huge jaw, and on the flipside, a woman petting a shark who seemed quite docile. The headline read, "<em>Vicious Beasts or Gentle Giants?".<em> Deciding that since, after all, it was Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, Erik would give the book a try and quickly placed it at the top of his pile on the register.

After purchasing his books, Erik readjusted the load in his hands and pushed the glass door open to come face-to-face with a sun at full-blaze. After his eyes readjusted to the bright light of the outdoors, Erik noticed a familiar cardigan across the street, one that was hugging a certain _nerd_ quite familiarly. Erik grinded his teeth together and quickened his pace down the street, but before he could get very far, he heard his name called by said cardigan-wearing man (though it was beyond Erik's comprehension how one could wear _so many layers_ in this blasted heat).

"Erik? Erik!" Charles was calling Erik's name and sprinting towards him at full throttle, and just as Erik turned around to face Charles, Charles collided into Erik's chest with a soft "oomph".

"Oh Erik, my friend, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to run _into_ you, just _towards_ you. Just so excited to see you like this! What a coincidence, in the middle of the day in the middle of this street! What are the odds?" Erik almost rolled his eyes at the exuberant Charles, but instead said, "Indeed." Unable to hide his bitterness, Erik even added, "I didn't mean to disturb your _date_." He evenly spat out the last word.

Confused, at both the animosity in his voice and the implied date, Charles looked Erik in the eyes and cocked his head to the side with a quite adorable look in his eyes. "Date? I wasn't on a date… OH. You mean Hank! I was merely helping him choose a gift for my sister's birthday you see. They're dating but I do hope he pops the question soon, it would be nice to have some kids running around the house." Charles ended his little rant as quickly as he had started it, shaking his head and wiping the wistful look from his eyes before he thought Erik could notice.

Clearly they hadn't known each other very long because Erik most _definitely_ caught the wistful look in Charles' eyes as the weight that had been pounding away at his chest for days, perhaps weeks, floated away. Elated, Erik was quite suddenly much more amiable company towards Charles.

Delighted at the company, Charles wiped the sweat from his brow and invited Erik to visit the ice cream parlor down the street in order to get away from the summer heat and with grace, Erik accepted.


	4. Popcorn

AN: Hi Sorry. I really don't have excuses. I mean I do, but I won't proffer them because it'll only really bore you. I can only hope I get back into the swing of things.

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><p>Charles was very aware of the fact that he and Erik were separated <em>only<em> by a bowl of popcorn. A seemingly innocent bowl of popcorn sitting innocently on a blanket. A blanket which too, sat innocently in the part of the sofa where the two cushions touched, but Charles saw right through this bowl of popcorn. This bowl of popcorn was seated right where Charles ought to be sitting.

Lord of the Rings was riveting, Charles could easily admit that. As a child he had explored the lands of Middle Earth in his dreams, read the books cover-to-cover growing up, and had spent more time holding marathons for the movies than Raven probably liked. But right now, no matter how riveting the movie was, no matter how interesting the linguistic differences of Sindarin and Quenya, the only thing Charles wanted to be lost in was not Mordor, it was Eric's arms.

Bitter and full of vengeance, Charles hurriedly snatched the bowl from its perch and munched away at the popcorn till it was no more. Now, it was an empty bowl. An empty bowl sitting back in its place in the center of the couch. Sitting as empty as Eric's arms. More annoyed than ever, Charles could only cross his arms and look grumpily at the screen.

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><p>Clearly Charles liked popcorn…and after moments of hesitation and debate, Eric got up and began making another bowl. After all, what sort of a host would he be if he let his guests go hungry? Edie would go mad and scold him like no other, no matter if he had hoped Charles would scootch closer during the next scene. The ping of the microwave brought Eric out of the nightmarish thought of his mother's angry words and back to reality.<br>"Charles, would you like something to drink?"  
>Eric could only hear a muffled "hnnngooooo" sound, and took it as a 'deeply engrossed "no,"' after all, this was his favourite movie. Eric had chosen this series for a reason. It would…give him a chance to get to know Charles. Unfortunately, Charles had seemed unreceptive to the idea and had not moved to sit closer. Now Eric was forced into watching this film of "orcs" and "hobbits" when he'd very much be doing something else.<p>

Moving back towards the movie, Eric could only chuckle as an _entangled _Charles lay sprawled across the couch in a fight with the blanket. _This_ was something Eric could work with.

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><p>Charles twisted and pulled but somehow, the cocoon he had attempted to build with the blanket had entangled him into some sort of a black hole refusing to let go. Tipping precariously at the edge of the couch, Charles came to terms with his fate, he would fall and embarrass himself in front of Eric…again, but almost at once, he felt two strong arms pull him and then with a slight "oomf," Charles felt his back lean against a hard surface with the arms wrapped around him. Suddenly, the "black hole" was no longer a "black hole," but something more of a…nest.<p>

The popcorn lay forgotten completely.


End file.
